You might have read this headline in the Vancouver Province and Sun last week. It sure caught the attention of some of my clients and blog viewers and that's exactly why the Vancouver Sun prints these headlines... it sells papers.  Many people think a 30% drop in sales means prices have gone down 30% and that is not the case. This stat means sales VOLUME is down 30% (actually most agents will tell you it feels more like 50% down). The average sale price which is what most people are concerned with is only down 1%. Yes, you heard it right...a whopping 1%. Now, average price I have to admit is also a misleading stat. This is where they lump all homes in all areas into one basket.  It's a terrible metric used to measure home prices. The price of an old tear down home in West Richmond on a huge lot might be down by 12% (which it is by the way) while a studio apartment in Gastown might be down by 1%. In other words when you're looking at prices forget using AVERAGE... you can get those numbers to say anything you want. You need to be specific to the neighborhood and type of home... that is what tells the true story.